Probably Need a New Pump

[Leehicks79]

Pretty sure I burned up my motor by not checking my "skimmer sock" regularly enough here at the beginning of the season. I probably shouldn't have even had it on there with all the debris this early. I will try to take it in to see if it is repairable, but assuming it's not, I want to get a jump on what to do.

I currently have a one speed 1.5 HP motor with a 19" sand filter. From reading on here, I feel like it's too much pump for my filter. Of course, when I call the store, they say that's standard for a 24' AG. I am used to running the pump 24/7. If I go to a 3/4 or 1HP variable speed, will I be able to keep it on "low" and run it all day and see the same results (i.e. clear water)?

Thanks for any help!

[leena]

I just upgraded to a smaller pump (1HP, 2 speed) and bigger filter 300lb (24"), so I will let you know if it keeps my water clear. Just hooked it up but I have hazy water from dead algae particles so I think its the perfect situation to test it. Will let you know how it goes for me. But seeing how much less it runs on low, it would prob work decently with a 19" sand filter. For sure better than the 1.5HP one speed anyways. I had almost the exact same set up as you currently have and it was just shooting water thru my sand filter. My skimmer socks were doing all the work. Granted I prob could have used my old sand filter with this new pump but it cracked so I went ahead and got the big sand filter.......

[mas985]

I just upgraded to a smaller pump (1HP, 2 speed) and bigger filter 300lb (24"), so I will let you know if it keeps my water clear. A pump has very little to do with keeping water clear. That is mostly about chemistry. Keep FC in the range of CYA, and your water will remain clear. However, you need to get ride of the algae first.


I currently have a one speed 1.5 HP motor with a 19" sand filter. From reading on here, I feel like it's too much pump for my filter. Of course, when I call the store, they say that's standard for a 24' AG. I am used to running the pump 24/7. If I go to a 3/4 or 1HP variable speed, will I be able to keep it on "low" and run it all day and see the same results (i.e. clear water)? You can run on low but I wouldn't bother running the pump 24/7. That is just a waste of energy. Even on low speed, you shouldn't need much more than about 6 hours per day. Again, clear water has very little to do with the pump.

[FormerBromineUser]

Mark: totally agree that clear water is about chemistry! Sparkling water (for me) is also about good filtering. Don't you and Ben recommend that those 6 hours of pump time be in two shifts if possible?

[mas985]

Technically, you can run as little as you want to as long as you meet the FC targets in all parts of the pool but when dosed manually, this usually requires less than an hour of run time. Other methods of chlorination could take longer.

During the heat of the summer I run 4 hours per day with 3 of those hours on low speed and never had any water problems. Currently I am running only 1.5 hours total and the water is as clear as can be. Some people can run even less than that and one person on another site has gotten his run time down to 30 min per day.

But I would argue that sparkling water really has nothing at all to do with filtering. Even the best filters can only filter down to about 5 microns and particles of that size will either float or sink. In order for particles to be suspended in water and affect clarity, they need to be smaller than about 2 microns. The filter is there mainly to trap larger debris that float into the skimmer or are vacuumed from the pool floor. Particles suspended in the water, pass right through the filter.

But what really should determine run time, is the tolerance for the debris on the pool floor and on the water surface. This is the main function of pump run time and filtering besides pool heating.

Have a read through the pump run time study in my signature. During their testing, they saw no significant improvement in water quality after 2 hours of run time. This has been my experience as well.

[FormerBromineUser]

Glad you referenced your pool time study. I have read it several times and I always think about getting a timer for my pump. Now I have to do it manually.

For me, my water can be very clear, but only gets that beautiful sparkle, especially at night, with DE in my sand filter. Maybe it's my old eyes...!!!!

[FormerBromineUser]

Also, my sparkly situation may have to do with the fact that (unless there are users in the pool), I keep my auto-cover closed about 22 hrs/day. Skimmers don't work with it closed...

[mas985]

One more thing to keep in mind is when you run 24/7 you don't give the smaller particles time to settle out so they will tend to remain in suspension and in this case, the only way to remove them is by filtering. It is far more cost effective to turn the pump off for several hours and let these particles settle out so they can be vacuumed up. However, if you don't have an automatic vac, it may not be time effective to do it that way. It all comes down to how you want to manage your pool and the how much you want to pay for it.

[leena]

just letting you know that after 24 hrs with the new pump and filter, it drastically improved the clarity of my water. Before I always had to add floc and let the remaining dead algae particles settle then vacuum to waste. Id repeat the letting it settle and vacuum constantly to keep my water clear. I only added floc once a yr. It seemed to stay in the water bc even the small particles would sink to the bottom for several weeks after using the floc.
However, this time I just wanted to see if the new filter and pump would do anything. So I didn't add the floc. I killed the algae then vacuumed to waste twice. However the water was still very hazy from the tiny dead algae particles that were floating around and wouldn't settle to the bottom. So I hooked up the new filter and pump and after 24 hrs, big difference, after 3 days.. clear water. That was running it on low. Running on low, the heavy stuff still sank to the bottom so I stirred it up but it didn't seem to filter it out bc the water flow was so gentle, it the big stuff just sank back to bottom. So I stirred it up again and ran filter on high for 24 hrs. This did get more of the big stuff out but some still settled to the bottom. My electric co shows electrical use every 24 hrs so I could see that runnin it on high did increase my energy use more.
SO I think I will run on low for 3 hrs ea day or every other day, vacuum to waste anything that settles to bottom. This is the first time I'd gotten clear water after an algae outbreak without having to add something to make the tiny particles settle to bottom, so I know that a properly sized pump and sand filter does actually filter stuff out. My old setup didn't appear to filter out anything, not even bugs much less small dead algae particles.

[FormerBromineUser]

That is a great update. Congrats on the clear water!

[mas985]

One of the issues with sand filters is that they usually have a hard time filtering out dead algae because it is smaller than 20 microns (filter capability). One way to help the filter is to add a cup or two of DE. This will help remove the dead algae much more effectively.

[FormerBromineUser]

I ALWAYS add DE to my sand filter after backwashing. It is one of the greatest advantages to having a sand filter IMHO. Here's how: (copied from a longer post)

1) Backwash your filter. Note the pressure it's running with.
2) mix about 1/3 of a cup of DE into a few gallons of pool water.
3) pour the mix slowly into your skimmer while the pump is running. If it's a 2-speed, use low speed.
4) WAIT about 20 minutes and see if the pressure rises. If it does you want it to rise about 1 lb.
5) If the pressure doesn't rise, or rises less than 1 lb, repeat steps 2), 3) and 4).
6) If the pressure has risen 1 lb, you are done. (frankly if it goes up 2 lbs, I'm OK with that. ) A 1 lb rise is your target.
7) If it goes up 5 lbs or more, backwash and start again, but use less DE.